Eagle girls a contender in tight A North race BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA Staff Writer With seven games in the books, the Middletown High School South girls basketball team is sporting a spiffy 6-1 mark with the lone loss coming in the finals of the Point Pleasant Beach Holiday Classic. The Eagles were 3-0 in Shore Conference Class A North play heading into Monday night’s home game against Howell, also 3-0 in the division at the time. Coach Tom Brennan has stressed a team game, while making extensive use of his depth. On Friday, for example, Middletown South downed Marlboro 42-24, and Shealyn Taggert was the Eagles leading scorer with seven points. “Balanced scoring has been a key for us because defenses can’t key on any one player,” he said. “But an even more important aspect for us is defense. We pride ourselves on that and we gave up far too many points when we played Neptune, so it was important that we got that back on track against Marlboro.” The Eagles allowed Neptune to score 72 points in the Point Beach finale, while scoring 67 themselves. In fairness, the game did go into overtime. Middletown South had beaten both Florence and Point Pleasant Beach to earn a berth in the finals. South’s other triumphs have come against Manalapan and Freehold Township. Overall, Taggert is the Eagles leading scorer, averaging 11 points per game, with Courtney Herring right behind at eight points per. Sophomore center Shawna Hagen averages seven points; juniors Christina Longo and Julie Gannon average averages 6.3 and 5.7 points, respectively; and Jillian Gannon, a sophomore forward, is at four points. Brennan’s team has also taken care of business on the boards. Taggert and Herring both average seven caroms, while Longo averages six rebounds and Jillian Gannon four boards. The coach praised the play of point guard Brittany Hoffman, who averages better than five assists and has played an important role in limiting turnovers. Julie Gannon, who spells Hoffman at the point, averages 2.5 assists. “We’re getting strong efforts from everyone and they’re buying into the team game,” Brennan said. “Their unselfishness enables us to play at a high tempo and control the pace of games. That’s a huge benefit.” The Eagles are one of few local girls team boasting a winning record at this point in the season, though St. John Vianney’s 2-5 mark entering the week could be considered a bit deceiving. Though the Lancers have struggled a bit early on, only one of their losses has come to a Shore Conference team, a 47-51 loss to top-ranked Red Bank Catholic on Jan. 3. Vianney is undoubtedly better than a 2-5 team, and it will come as a surprise to no one if the Lancers begin to pile on the wins now that the regular season kicks into high gear. While RBC and SJV are the teams to beat in the Shore’s Class A Central race, the Holmdel girls are lining up for a run at the public school division title, despite a disappointing 42-40 divisional loss to Manasquan on Thursday. The loss dropped the Hornets (5-3, 1-2 in the division) a game behind Manasquan, though the two teams will meet again later this season. Mater Dei is another local team looking to rebound from a tough divisional loss after getting off to a fast start, as the Seraphs dropped a 58-45 contest to St. Rose on Thursday in a Class B Central showdown. The Purple Roses improved to 7-1 (4-0 in the division) with the win, while Mater Dei fell to 6-3 (3-1). This race, however, is far from over. On the boys side of play, the CBA Colts remain the team to beat in the Shore, and proved their mettle against one of the state’s elite teams, losing a hard-fought 47-45 contest to St. Anthony’s of Jersey City on Saturday. The Colts were led by North Carolina State-bound forward Dan Werner, who put on a clinic against the state’s third-ranked team, scoring 32 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, and earned the highest praise from the Friars’ legendary coach, Bob Hurley, who called Werner “the best all-around player in the state.” Unfortunately, St. Anthony’s hit their free throws down the stretch after an inspired CBA comeback. This Sunday, Werner and the Colts face an even tougher challenge as they take on top-ranked St. Patrick’s of Elizabeth in the marquee matchup at the Battle on the Boardwalk in Asbury Park. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. While CBA has some big aspirations this winter, the Middletown North boys team is in the midst of a dogfight for the Public Schools A North title once again. The Lions entered the week at 6-2 (3-1) in the division, which puts them a game behind Manalapan and tied with Freehold Township. This is one division race that could go down to the final week. The A Central race is also getting interesting, with Manasquan sitting atop the standings at the moment at 8-1 (4-0). However, a rejuvenated Raritan team (6-3, 3-1) continues to impress with its motivated play, despite a disappointing 73-42 loss to Rumson-Fair Haven on Friday. Raritan and Manasquan square off tomorrow night in an important early season showdown.